In 1911, the Société Francaise des Films et Cinematographs Éclair purchased land on the west side of Linwood Avenue in downtown Fort Lee to build a motion picture studio. Founded in Paris in 1907 as a manufacturer of film and film apparatus, Éclair intended its Fort Lee studio, a greenhouse-like structure with a 60 by 30 foot stage, to produce short films for the growing American nickelodeon market. French technicians including director Etienne Arnaud, cameraman Lucien Andriot, and set designer Ben Carré worked with American employees through an interpreter. Films made there in 1912 included “Robin Hood,” “The Raven,” and “Saved from the Titanic,” in which Éclair star Dorothy Gibson recreated her escape from the doomed liner immediately after her rescue. That same year, pioneer film animator Emile Cohl came to Fort Lee and produced the first animated cartoon series, “The Newlyweds,” featuring Baby Snookums. Poster artists employed by Éclair included the young Edward Hopper. Éclair expanded its studio and film laboratory in 1913, but on March 19, 1914, the laboratory was destroyed by fire when flammable nitrate film ignited. Some Éclair personnel returned to France, while others joined Jules Brulatour’s new Peerless studio on Lewis Street. The Fox Film Corporation eventually took over the reconstructed facility, which was known as Éclair-Fox until its abandonment in 1926.